USVI-On-Line

Day Six (Easter Sunday) –

We arose to a sunny and beautiful day and found a little Easter gift on our balcony! The chocolate bunny survived the trip to St. John.

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We attended church in Cruz Bay and arrived in time for mass, but it was standing room only. What a beautiful service – I really enjoyed how lively it was and how welcome we felt. It was a perfect way to begin our day.

The service was two hours long and we were hungry when we left so stopped along the way at High Tide for lunch. Afterwards, we knew the ACC dogs were going to be enjoying the beach, sand and burgers down at the Beach Bar so we headed there to say hello to Peter and the other dogs (along with ACC Staff and volunteers!). Those dogs were so happy – they were digging in the sand, jumping in the water and running along the beach. It was a great sight!

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The dogs weren't sure what to think of Hollywood!

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Since we had skipped two days of kayaking due in part to the high surf warning, we definitely wanted to get out there again today. As we left Cruz Bay, it was raining, but once we turned the bend towards the north shore, the sky cleared up and we had an awesome trip all the way to Hawksnest. We didn’t stop along the way since we had a bit of a late start and it took us about 1 ½ hours to get there. Again, we enjoyed seeing St. John from the water and witnessed a few turtles coming up for air.

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We spent several hours at Hawksnest and just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

We planned to take a taxi back to Cruz Bay, so folded up our kayaks and collected all our gear and went out to catch a ride. After about ten to fifteen minutes, we decided maybe we should try to hitch a ride back to town since no taxis were in sight. Within two minutes, a friendly young man named Matt stopped and picked us up – and along with all our gear, we barely fit in his car! He was kind enough to drop us off at Uncle Joe’s BBQ since it was open for dinner and we enjoyed BBQ ribs for our Easter dinner.

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After dinner, we planned to head back to Grande Bay and spend some time in the pool and hot tub but instead as we walked near the Beach Bar, we could hear a band playing and we decided to stick around and listen for a while. Alex enjoyed playing in the trees and having a root beer or two before we called it a day.

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Day Seven (Monday) –

Our last full day on island and I had been hearing all these reports of a manta ray at either Maho or Francis Bays. This was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss out on, so we decided to rent a car for one day and make the trek over. We had checked with four rental agencies the day before and were told to come back the next day since they did not accept reservations for one day rentals. We were able to get a bright yellow jeep from Conrad Sutton and we were set for the day!

It was a little overcast and raining lightly when we left Cruz Bay, but we know how one part of the island can be rainy while the other is full of sunshine. We made it to Francis Bay while the sun was out and within about 30 minutes, it began to rain and rain and rain….! We set our neat sheet on top of our towels and bag and went into the water to try and stay warm, but it was so cold! The rain lasted for about 30 minutes and it finally let up and the sun came back out.

My son was ready to leave but just then a group on the beach saw the elusive manta ray and I was going nowhere but in the water to see him (for purposes of this report, I am calling the manta ray a “he” because I don’t know any better)! I grabbed my snorkel and mask and swam as fast as I could until there he was right below me – it was one of the greatest things I have seen. I kept swimming along with him and although there were a few others in the water with me, it seemed like it was just him and I out there in the middle of Francis Bay. In my haste to get in the water, I forgot my camera on the beach so I have no photos to share, but it is etched in my mind and I really hope I get to see him again on a future visit.

After that excitement, I was rather giddy but ready to move on to another location. We were hungry by this point so we decided on Shipwreck Landing for lunch. It was good as always and we make it a priority to stop here once each trip.

We weren’t sure where to go next so decided to use the jeep as much as possible and head toward Little Lameshur Bay. The road was wet and rough and there were quite a few people at the beach. Unfortunately, due to the recent rainy weather, the no see ums were also out in force and we ended up leaving shortly after arriving.

The road to Little Lameshur

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We ended our day by visiting the shops at Skinny Legs and then heading over to Maho for a final beach. We found a perfect spot and set up our chairs for a few hours to enjoy the view, sand castle building, swimming and simply relaxing. It was a perfect end to a great day.

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Day Eight (Tuesday) –

Time to head home….. Our flight was not until 4:30 out of St. Thomas so we dropped off our car, walked to Deli Grotto for some sandwiches and then stopped by to see Ruth, Ron and Curly. We brought Curly a squeaky chicken toy and unfortunately we think he was more interested in our sandwiches (smart dog!). We did some packing and then spent a few hours at the pool before the walk of woe.

Good Bye St. John!

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All in all, another wonderful trip to St. John!

Here is a link to the Kayaks we used -

http://www.sevylor.com/QuikPak-K1-Cover ... 45C41.aspx

They were purchased new for this trip and besides inflating them in our living room, the first time they were used was on St. John. They come with a paddle and a hand air pump. They actually folded down pretty well after use and were easy to carry.

We also used a Sea to Summit waterproof bag which housed our towels, cameras, etc and I attached it to the back of the kayak easily. We had room in the front of each kayak for our soft sided cooler, sandals, and such.

We did not wear life vests but had them easily accessible behind our backs in case we needed them at any point.

I was able to trade frequent flier points for one of the kayaks and bought the second one (brand new) on Ebay for a bit less than the price listed on the above site. It was well worth the cost in my opinion and I imagine we will get alot of use out of these on future trips.

Enjoy!

I'm pretty sure we'll have a set of those for next trip. Love the idea!
Lucky, hard working guy got to enjoy some private time with his mom. And she rocked it.
Awesome!

wonderful report...thanks Tracy....

So glad to hear that the kayaks worked out!! AND a manta sighting!!! Awesome trip report!

Tracy, sounds like agreat trip... A question about the kayaks, are they stable? The website says max 400 lbs, my husband goes about 250 and is 6'3" do you think he would feel cramped or tippy?

Thanks for the information on Kayaks. It looks like a great way to see more of the island.

sailorgirl wrote:Tracy, sounds like agreat trip... A question about the kayaks, are they stable? The website says max 400 lbs, my husband goes about 250 and is 6'3" do you think he would feel cramped or tippy?

They were very stable for us - I would be more concerned with his height since there are places for your feet and his legs might be too long. My son is about 5' 8" and he fit fine. He could rest them on top of the kayak rather than using the foot rests though.

They do have other models that might work better.

Great report! I am glad you got to see the manta.

How long did it take to inflate the kayaks? Did they have a manual pump? Kayaking is on my someday list.

What size Sea to Summit bag did you use to carry Kayaks in? Did you put in checked bay? If so how much did they weigh?


Thanks Cindy

Great trip and great report Tracy!

So glad that you and Alex got to share all of that special time together!

Thanks for a great trip report! Sorry we were down island that week, sounds like a fun trip!!

Cheers, RickG

I'm glad you had a great trip with your son. You shared a lot of fun experiences together. Nice one-on-one time.

I'm also glad you found out how to explore the island without a vehicle. It IS possible and not really expensive. We don't rent a car. Just taxi and it always works out for us just fine. We've met some great folks and had some lively conversations in the back of the taxi trucks while we roll along the hills and valleys on the way to/from beaches! Of course we aren't hikers, and I'm sure there are some things we've missed by not driving, but all-in-all it is the way to go for us.

We're looking forward to the next trip with another great stay in Cruz Bay.... even though that ticker is a long way off right now

~ Nancy

I LOOOVE that you did a mommy/son trip! Vera special! My daughter and I did a mommy/daughter trip late last year and had the BEST time EVER! Thank you for sharing your memories with us!

Think I'm gonna get one of those kayaks for my 14 year old son! He will love it!

Great end to a wonderful trip full of memories! Thanks for sharing!